Women as catalysts for peace: three receive Nobel Peace prize

OSLO, Dec 10 (AFP): Liberia's president, a Liberian and a Yemeni activist receive the Nobel Peace Prize Saturday for demonstrating how women facing war and oppression can shed the mantle of victimhood and lead the way to peace and democracy. "The period that women appeared as victims has ended. ... Now women they are leaders. They are leaders not only of their country or leaders in their struggle, but leaders in the world," Yemeni "Arab Spring" activist Tawakkol Karman told a news conference in Oslo on the eve of the prize ceremony, which kicks off at 1:00 pm (1200 GMT) in Oslo's city hall. Karman, who at 32 is the youngest winner of the prize in its 110-year history and the first Arab woman ever to win a Nobel, will receive her award alongside Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Liberian "peace warrior" Leymah Gbowee. The three will each receive a gold medal, a diploma and a third of the 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.48 million, 1.08 million euros) prize money in recognition of "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work", Norwegian Nobel Committee president Thorbjoern Jagland said when announcing the prize on October 7. Gbowee and Sirleaf also hailed the growing empowerment of women in the world at Friday's news conference.